Device for casting flat stereotype printing-plates.



C. NORDFORS.

DEVICE FOR CASTING FLAT STEREOTYPE PRINTING PLATES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY H. 1915.

1,288,142. Patented Dec. 17. 1918.

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DEVICE FOR CASTING FLAT STEREOTY'PE PRINTING PLATES.

APPLICATION FILED MAYH.19I5.

1,288,142. Patented Dec. 17, 1918.

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C. NORDFORS.

DEVICE FOR CASTING FLAT STEREOTYPE PRINTING PLATES.

APPLICATION FILED MAY II. I915.

1,288,142. Patented Dec. 17,1918.

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CONRAD NORDFORS, 0F JERSEY CITY HEIGHTS, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO WOOD NEWSPAPER MACHINERY CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF VIRGINIA.

DEVICE FOR CASTING FLAT STEREO'IYPE PRINTING-PLATES.

Application filed May 11, 1915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CONRAD Nonnrons, a citizen of the United States, residing at J ersey City Heights, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Device for Casting Flat Stereotype Printing-Plates, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a device which has some features capable of general use, but is particularly adapted for casting flat stereotype printing plates.

The principal objects of the invention are to provide a simple and inexpensive mecha nism which will make plates of this character more rapidly and accurately than has been the case with the mechanisms on the market for this purpose; to provide means whereby the metal from the melting pot will be introduced into the mold in such a manner that it will not tend to wear away or injure the surfaces of the mold or matrix to the same extent as heretofore; to provide means whereby the mold is supported in a convenient position on the melting pot or furnace and the cover is turned down easily to a convenient position for opening the mold; to provide means whereby the matrix can be held either on the back or cover so that in the former case the plate can be delivered printed side up with the matrix on top, and in the latter case the metal entering the mold will not first strike the matrix but will simply rise along its surface as its level rises in the mold; and to provide an improved arrangement of casting bars so that they can be moved back and forth between back and cover and the side bars can also be moved toward each other to provide for different widths of matrices.

The invention also involves other features of construction and combinations of parts as will appear hereinafter.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a melting pot and casting box for flat stereotype printing plates, constructed in accordance with this invention, the box being shown full lines and closed in dotted lines Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 17, 1918.

Serial No. 27,317.

Fig. 2 is a plan of the same;

Fig. 3, is a sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 2 on enlarged scale;

Fig. 4 is a. plan of a modified form showing the box open;

Fig. 5 is a side view of the same;

Fig. 6 is a side view of another modified form showing the box open;

Fig. 7 is an end view of the same showing the box closed, and

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

The invention is shown in Figs. 1, 2, 6 and '7 as applied to a melting pot 10 provided with a pump 11 secured to the furnace casing A. by means of a bracket 12. The nozzle 13 projects up from the melting pot at an inclination and has its mouth so located, as will be seen later, that it delivers metal into the center of the casting chamber and does not flow it down the side wall directly.

On the upper part of the casting back 14 is fastened an apron 9 which is inclined all the way back to the top of the melting pot and serves as an overflow to allow the surplus metal to be discharged back directly into the pot before it has a chance to chill.

The back 14 of the casting box is fastened to the top of the melting pot in Figs. 1 and 2, by means of a lug 15 and is held in an in clined position by means of bracket extensions 16 fastened to the casing. The brackets 16 furnish bearings for an eccentric locking shaft 17 on which locking hooks or clamps 18 are loosely mounted. These clamps are operated by means of a crank arm 20 on one end of the shaft and a pair of arms 19 at both ends. Two pins 21 on the hooks 18 are in position to be engaged by the arms 19 for the purpose of causing the hooks 18 to be operated upon the turning of the shaft in one direction. This releases the hooks from the studs 22 on the cover 23 of the casting box. It will be understood that on the opposite motion the hooks are first lowered into position over the lugs and then as the arms 19 draw away from the pins 21 the eccentric operates to pull the hooks 18 in and thus clamp the cover to the back.

The cover 23 is hinged to the box 14 by meansv of a pivot stud or shaft 24 and is providedwith a counterbalance weight 25 a matrix of difierent width.

for an obvious purpose. The box and cover are both preferably water cooled. When the cover swings down from the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1 to the position shown in full lines, it is stopped by the weight '25 engaging a stationary part of the back so as to leave the cover substantially in horizontal position.

Hinged to the pivot'stud 24; is a hinge guide 26 to which a: head gage 27 is secured as by means of bolts 28 (Fig. 3). This head gage carries a right and left hand adjusting screw 29 which is held in place by means of collars 30. A pair of side gages 31 are located in position straddling the head gage 27 and slide in ways or guides in the hinge guide 26. Each side gage is provided with an outwardly projecting portion 31 through which the screw passes and as this screw is turned by means of its hand wheel 32 the side gages are moved toward or from each Other simultaneously. It is to be observed that they fit closely against the edge of the head gage 27 in all positions and consequently this head gage does not have to be moved or replaced when the side gages are adjusted to a different position for use with However, it will be observed that the. hingeguide together with the head gage and side gages can swing about the pivot 2% with the cover or independently of it as maybe desired.

The forward ends of the side gages 31 are provided with clamp hooks 33 for the purpose of clamping the gages to the cover and keeping them in place as the cover is moved up or down.

In the operation of the device a matrix M may be placed on the top of the back 14: with its face up and its lower edge against the stop 3% shown in Fig. 3. The gages are'then swungover the top of the matrix and, adjusted to the properdistance apart and then the cover 23 itself swung up into place. The lever 20 is then pulled forward to allow the hooks 18 to engage the pins 22 and'thcreafter to cause the eccentric shaft 17 to turn sufficiently to lock the cover to the box. It is to be noted that the mouth of the nozzle directs the metal into the center of the mold space and not directly against either side and that as much metal as necessary may be pumped in and the overflow will be taken care of automatically if too much is introduced.

Anotherway infwhich the device can be used isto place the matrix on the top of the cover .23 when the box is open, then bring the gages down. Theymust be properly clamped to the cover by means of the clamps 33 before swinging the cover up in place. In this case it will he noticed that the matrix instead of being located as shown in Fig. 3 is on the opposite or upper side of the .mold when in casting position. Therefore the .metal flows down the other side of the mold and has no chance to flow along the surface of the matrix and injure it. On the contrary it rises up this surface in a perfectly quiescent state and it is found in practice that the matrix in that case lasts longer than when used in the other way described. 7

In the modification shown in Figs. 4 and 5 although the melting pot and furnace casing are not shown, it is to be understood that the casting back ll can be used. in the same way as shown in Fig. 1, or it can be supported in an inclined position by any other means. In this case the side gages 31 arehinged by hinges 37 to sliding frames 35 mounted in grooves on the top of the cover 23. An adjusting screw 29 is journaled in the cover, engaging the sliding frames 35 by means of threaded brackets 36. A head gage 27 is pinned to the top of the cover. The screw 29 is operated as in the other case. By this construction the gages enable the operatorto make several casts on the same matrix without readjusting the side gages.

In the form shown in Figs. 6,7 and 8, the back ll is substantially the same as in the first case above described. The cover 23? is similar except that it is hinged to the side of the back. It is provided' with a counter balance 25 as before. In this case the plate gages 31" are hinged at the bottom of the box as before and rest on a fiat bracket 39 when brought down on it to horizontal position.

The back 14 is provided with two studs l0 adaptedto engage a swinging yoke ll which is carried by the cover. A screw 42 is connected with the cover by means of a washer a3 and passes through a threaded hole in the yoke 4C1. At each end of the yoke l1 are oppositely opening slots l adapted to engage necks l5 under the heads of the studs l0. Thus when the cover is brought into place on top of the box the yoke ll can be swung on its center until the slots engage the heads of the studs. Then the screw pressure can be applied by means of a hand wheel 46 and the screw, box, and

cover firmly locked together.

I11 this case the head gage 27 as, well as the side gages 31 are provided with ribs L8 for the purpose of supporting the plate in the gages as it swings from the casting box'to the bracket 39, it being understoodin this case that the cover is first moved back outof the way and doesnot assist in removing cesses on the'edges of the cast plates by V which the plates areheld in the gages during 1 the turning motions They also have another advantage in that they make the trimming and squaring of the edges of the plate less diflicult. i

It will be seen therefore that with the casting back held in inclined position a convenient arrangement is provided whereby the surplus metal flows directly back into the pot. The side gages are readily adjusted back and forth for widely varying widths of matrices and no readjustment or replacement of the head gage has to be made. The matrix can be placed on either side of the mold according to the advantages desired. In case the matrix is delivered on top of the plate the operator can remove it and inspect the plate without going to the trouble of taking it out of the casting box. But in the other case a superior quality of casting is secured on account of the incline of the box and the fact that the matrix is at the top as previously stated.

Although I have illustrated and described only three forms of the invention I am aware of the fact that many other modifications can be made therein by any person skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the claims.

Therefore, I do not wish to be limited to all the details of construction herein shown and described, but what I do claim is 1. The combination with a metal pump and melting pot, of a casting box having a flat back mounted on the pot in inclined position extending away from the pump at all points from the top downwardly, and a pump nozzle extending directly up over the top of the inclined box and having a mouth in position for discharging the metal in the center of the top of the casting chamber.

2. The combination with a metal pump, of a casting box having a back, and a pump nozzle extending directly up over the top of the box and having a mouth in position for discharging the metal in the casting chamher, and means whereby any surplus metal introduced into the casting box will be automatically drained out directly into the melting pot.

3. The combination with a pump, of a casting box located in inclined position, said pump having a nozzle for introducing metal into the box, and a drain extending from the top of the casting box back under the nozzle in reversely inclined position for draining the surplus metal from the top of the box.

4. The combination with a casting back and cover therefor, of studs on the cover, an eccentric shaft on the back, locking clamps loosely carried by said eccentric shaft adapted to be moved toward and from the cover by its eccentric motion, pins on said clamps and arms fixed on the shaft for engaging said pins and positively swinging the clamps with the shaft back from said studs to unlock the cover.

5. The combination with a casting back fixed in inclined position, of a horizontal shaft supported at the lower end thereof, a cover pivoted on said shaft, a set of casting bars pivoted on said shaft and movable toward and from the back, and means for limiting the downward motion of said bars and holding them in substantially horizontal position.

6. The combination with a casting back, of a head gage pivoted to the back, and casting 'bars mounted on the head gage to move therewith, said casting bars also being simultaneously adjustable toward and from each other along the head gage and relatively thereto.

7. The combination with the two parts of a mold, of a hinged head gage adapted to swing and extending across the mold cavity, and a pair of side gages adjustable toward and from each other along the head gage and relatively thereto.

8. The combination with the two parts of a mold, of a hinged guide pivoted to one of said parts, a head gage secured to said hinged guide and adapted to swing therewith and extending across the mold cavity, and a pair of side gages adjustable toward and from each other along the head gage, said hinged guide having a guide for keeping said side gages parallel with each other.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of a subscribing witness.

CONRAD NORDFORS.

Witness:

BLODWEN W. J ONES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

